When is it time to take off the party hat?
 

I'm almost 23 and I have no desire to drop the partying for watching movies, reading, or going to a tranquil bar on my weekends. Within the last few years, I've slowed down a whole lot, not because I wanted to but because I changed friends. Majority of them aren't into that kind of stuff. The minority who are, I don't get to see that often, because of differing schedules. But, I guess that's besides the point.

I went out with a cousin last night who's in her mid 20's. She got tired around 11 and wanted to go home because she stayed out until 1 the night before last. :o I consider that early as hell, lol. I consider pass 4 or 5 as late. Recently, I've being hearing similar things from people who are just a tad older than me. It makes me wonder if I am completely immature for enjoying college bars/nights, clubs, fraternity parties, and wild house parties and staying out past 3 a.m whenever I get the chance to.

When do you think it is time to settle down?

I try not to party pass 2AM during weekdays. On weekends, its 24/7 :D

the gals I work with & I are always exhausted by 11 on a Friday nite after working all day. We tend to make Saturday our going out night and osmetimes even then we have to say out loud "We're not old ladies" to rally a little :)

I don't think there's a set age where you can say "my partying days are over". Isht, I remember partying with a bunch of 30-40 year olds last year (and dated one of them! :eek: )

In the past 6 months or so, I've noticed that I get tired around 11 and I normally leave bars by midnight, though most are open till 2 and some are open till 4.

DVD nights, going out to dinner, watching a movie or even staying home to read a good book are ideal nights for me now. If I go to a club, it's because someone's in town or it's someone's birthday.

I look back on the crap I have done in recent years. I'd stay till the club closed at 4, didn't bother to sleep because I had to be in at work at 7, and even then I'd show up to work and class completely hungover. If I didn't go to work like that, everyone knew something was wrong. I had a different bar or club to go to every freaking night (except Mondays when I dried off).

Read my LJ and that's how 2002 was like. To be honest, I can't remember anything from 2000-2002.

If you're not ready to give up your hat yet, don't. Looking back it's hard to believe that I lived like that and I don't have any regrets, but damn I shouldn't have built up a tolerance like that...otherwise I coulda saved a ishtload of money.

This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately, too.

I love dancing, partying, just being social and meeting people...that atmosphere makes me really happy. And it scares me that in 2 years or whenever, people won't want to come out with me or will look down on me b/c I'm "supposed" to be getting married or settling down. Personally I don't really think there's a specific age for any of that, but if you have no one to go out with, you can bet I won't be doing it much.

I have made a conscious effort to slow down some aspects of my life lately, that's all I'll say about that, but I don't think I'm quite ready to make every night "good book/pot of tea" night just yet :)

It really just depends on what you like and what you feel like doing. I know plenty of people my age (and younger) who don't like to go out, but I'd be happy to be out until dawn if there was somewhere exciting to go around here.

Oh yeah and one other thing (more in response to the original question):
I do think, once you have children and a family, the partying should calm down. There's nothing wrong with getting a sitter and going out for drinks or dancing...a lot of women are young, hip moms and there's no reason to stop having a life. But you can bet I don't want my mom putting on a teensy black skirt and getting wasted with kids at home- that's setting a really bad example and to me, it's like trying to grasp the youth you lost a long time ago.

I still party like a rock star on the weekends but I'll admit that I try not to stay out past 2am. If I stay out until 2am, I end up sleeping until noon and then I'll have trouble trying to get to bed around 11pm on Sunday night when I have to be up at 7am on Monday. There's been quite a few occasions (like 3 times this month) where I've been out until 5am. :eek: I felt like crap by Monday and I think that's why I caught bronchitis. My body hates me right now.

As long as you're responsible and you're still going into work on time and getting you're job done, I see nothing wrong with partying it up on the weekends.

Do what ya feel! Screw what anybody thinks!

Don't worry about what anyone else thinks. I have realized that I get tired earlier now and I prefer to hang out at home now that I am a working stiff :) A few years ago I used to stay out laaaaate and then have a class or whatever. That stopped with student teaching. Now, as a teacher, I am totally wiped at the end of the day. The summer is a different story though...my sleep schedule gets totally effed up then!

I feel the same way as some of you all. I'm 23, but I don't feel old...as a matter of fact, I feel like I'm finally at the age where I'm old enough to really go out and have fun. :p Maybe I feel that way because I didn't go out or party a whole lot while I was an undergrad; I was always trying to keep my grades up and juggle my family and boyfriends, so that didn't leave much time or energy to stay out til all hours. Recently, however, I've been wanting to get out more, and I hate it that some people seem to think that after you've graduated college once, you should put your going-out days behind you, hang up your saddle, and become a "career girl" or get married. I'll be in school for another couple of years probably, so I'm not ready to do either of those things. All right, so I think it's kind of odd when middle-aged ladies dress in club clothes and stay out all night long, but I'm not there yet...and I'm sure I'll change my tune if I end up like those ladies. ;)

well i know i suck.....i am turning 22 in a few weeks and i hate to party (in the way that you guys are referring to). i hate to drink and i can easily go to sleep at 11 on sat. night (if i want to)


i dont have a problem with it. i do not see the fun factor in partying til 2 a.m. when i was 17, i would have loved it. but now, forget it

I've posted about this topic before, and let me tell you, it's something I think about A LOT. I'll be 24 this July and I am calm during the week, but I party it up on the weekends. I don't do anything too bad. The worst things I do are get drunk and publicly humilate myself by singing karaoke badly or something like that (as my friend and I did Thursday night).

But I have other friends and co-workers as well who really get on my case about that shit. It pisses me off, because for one, it's none of their business, and two, as I said before, I'm not doing anything that horrible! Now, if I were sleeping around and catching all kinds of diseases, or doing something illegal, they might have reason to get on my case. But I'm doing neither of those things.

I say, as long as you are performing well at work and not getting in too much trouble, have fun while you can before you have to worry about a husband and family.

I'm 22... but honestly, i was never really into partying/going out in the first place. I mean i love dancing and hanging out with friends at bars, but i am not a big drinker and on weekdays, i like to be in bed by 10-11 pm cuz i have to get up at 6. I love sleep, and without more than 6 hours, I am rendered useless. I save my late nights for the weekend as long as i am allowed to sleep in.

Never!!
 

This thread cracks me up, especially when people are saying "OMG, soon I will be 24 and people will expect me to settle down!" I know plenty of people who settled down because they thought they were "supposed" to and ended up divorced because they were so effing bored and miserable with their lives. Too bad they had already had several kids.

Then there are people who ARE ready to settle down at 20 and never have a regret. I don't deny they exist, I just don't think there are as many of them as there used to be, especially as our world in general gets smaller and it's easier to see what else is out there.

I don't feel the pressure I did in college to go out (from within myself, not from my friends) but I still love to - last night Mr 33 and I were out till 2 and outlasted all of the (younger) people at the table with us. If people are telling you you're too old to do this or that, they're the ones with issues, not you. Some people can't be happy with their lives unless they are criticizing the lives of others.

And one other fact to chew on....I am in my mid 30's and got carded at EVERY bar I went to last night. So I must be doing something right LOL.